Graco (NYSE:GGG) Raised to Outperform at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. BNP Paribas currently has $105.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.40.

Graco Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $84.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. Graco has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.70.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Graco will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.